Category: Oracles

We are obviously extremely late in getting this posted today, but better late than never, right? First, an announcement: The Treasury Newsletter is on hold until further notice, as our editor has a lot going on right now and not enough spare time to focus on it. When she is ready, we’ll see about resuming the Newsletter. Until then, each new month’s calendar will be posted separately, so no one will miss it, if they are looking for it. So, with that, Blessed Noumenia, everyone! ❤

We find ourselves waiting in Agetoreios, for that which we have long hoped for, but, is what we have hoped for truly what is best? If we have waited so long, why has our idleness not been rewarded? Perhaps it is time to cease waiting, for what is not ready, may never be ready for us. Our destiny awaits, regardless. When we accept this, the goal shall become tangible.

Treasury Month Agetoreios (IX), 2019 right-click to open

**All Oracular Forecasts are divined twice a year, on Aegletia 7, and Ktistêsia.

“Hear now, those for whom the fire burns still within your skin. Hear now the crackling of what once was the peak of your arrogance. It lay in a smoldering pile, the debris of a life filled with sorrow and pain. But now, the fire rages. Now, your rotten core shall be expunged in flame.

“Do not fear, for this is the change you seek– the very boundary between the worlds of your unmaking, and the worlds of your creation. Be calm within the flame, for the flame is you, and you are the vehicle of your own salvation.

“Know Thyselves, sweet children, and be at harmony with your passions, and your flames. I charge you to carry them, to hold them in honor, and to burn with them when necessary. Now is the time for the pure flame of Truth, and you, My messengers, will burn brightly to illuminate the new worlds for welcoming eyes.”

Oracles and Diviners do not carry the final word of any God. They may only give you what they can translate through their own mental, emotional, and spiritual filters, which includes any tools of their trade. First and foremost, an Oracle or a Diviner, is a translator of a God’s Will. The words are not theirs, and should not be followed by rote.

The Oracle’s interpretations of the words should be limited in the beginning, and only expanded upon by request of the querent. If an Oracle or Diviner gives you unsolicited advice or interpretation, politely thank them, but hold onto your own interpretation first. The words are addressed to the querent, not to the Oracle.

If an Oracle insists that you must follow their interpretation, despite your having to walk your very own path, and not theirs, then you have an example of a false Oracle. Not false in the sense that their ability should be questioned, but certainly their well-demonstrated humanity should raise some warning flags.

Because we are all human, and flawed, it is always possible to take ourselves and our abilities too seriously. I liken this phenomenon to a sign-language interpreter being mistaken for the speech-maker during an important event. The difference is obvious to anyone paying attention, or anyone with requisite knowledge of sign-language interpreters.

As it is unlikely that the interpreter has forgotten that they are not delivering the actual speech, it is the perception of those watching which transforms the interpreter into the speech-maker. If no one bothers to question the false reality being woven around the interpreter, it becomes more difficult for those glancing to differentiate the two.

This is a serious issue. Those seeking Oracular or Divinatory confirmation need to be alert, and aware of these types of broken boundaries. I think some of this is due to the informal and anonymous nature of the internet, which is a tool utilized by many Diviners and Oracles, myself included. The ease and convenience of long-distance Oracular work should not be a replacement for the solid and physical exchange of energies needed to discern truth from fiction, and human from Divine. It takes a more conscious effort by the querent to remain focused on the words, and less so on the person delivering them.

Oracles and Diviners are people, like the rest of us– plain and unspectacular. We, our abilities, and our translations of the Divine Will, are not to be placed above the inherent knowledge existing within individuals. In the end, we ourselves are no more than the tools of our Gods and spirits.

A megaphone, for example, has many volume settings. And like a megaphone, Oracles can be turned either up, or down. Common knowledge tells us that the Gods have Their hand on the dial, but what isn’t so commonly known, is that the querent has a volume control of their own. Do not be afraid of using yours.

Another way to ensure that you are not led down an unnecessary detour, is to seek out multiple sources. Do not go to only one Oracle or Diviner. There isn’t only one, and I’m certain that if you look hard enough, you will find at least two translators for any particular God. Probably more. You have all the power in the relationship between you and the Oracle you choose.

Just remember that your interpretation of your message stands above the Oracle’s interpretation of your message. And if they tell you otherwise… walk away.

“You have begun the work, together, as it should be done, each according to her skill and interest. Continue in this vein. Do what is necessary to keep your traditions alive. The Earth, in all Her bounty, cradles you in Her hands, and you shall receive of Her gifts tenfold, but keep the promises you shall make, for they will be forged in blood and ichor. Strive not to vainglory, even in your beauty, even in your grace. Humble yourselves in solace of the peace gained through mastery of your own ego. Your time will come, My swans.” –– Apollon

Pytheion (V) – May. 5-Jun. 3, 2019

(Y) Upsilon, (Δ) Delta, (I) Iota

For the month of Pytheion, we are warned not to allow our work ethic to consume our daily lives and relationships. There will always be work to be done, and as we are conquering the many fields before us, we may again become consumed with the battles of immediate import. Yet, we must not walk down the path of self-destruction. A steady pace, with time allotted for tranquility and normal life, is best. We do our best work for Him when we are at our best.

Batrachion (VI) – Jun 4-Jul. 2, 2019

(B) Beta, (T) Tau, (A) Alpha

Batrachion is the time to sever ties with all which does not, or no longer, serves a purpose toward our ultimate goals. Between the words, it is stressed that our work for Apollon, particularly, be considered here. Those individuals who spread toxicity toward our God(s), or who simply can not abide our existence, for whatever reason, must all be left behind. Once we have done this, our paths will be opened in ways we have yet thought possible. And beside us, our Prince shall stand, a guiding force, whose light will shine our way forward.

Pyrophorion (VII) – Jul. 3-Aug. 1, 2019

(Λ) Lambda, (H) Eta, (N) Nu

We must strengthen our defenses in the month of Pyrophorion, for Apollon warns of imminent malicious intent, which shall be focused upon us at this time. Stay alert and watchful, and know that all deeds done under the Sun, are seen and recorded. There is no hiding from the Gods. And when dust is settled, our patience and strength shall be reward enough.

Karneion (VIII) – Aug. 2-Aug. 30, 2019

(M) Mu, (O) Omicron, (Ω) Omega

Karneion may come with a bitter harvest, as the seeds sown by troublemakers in the previous month, though cut down, still leave some residue upon the blade. We must continue to cleanse ourselves of all ill, and to follow the roads Apollon has paved for us. What is difficult often offers the most satisfying reward, come the end. And again, all that is given is what is earned. Walk in the right, and right shall precede you, in truth.

Agetoreios (IX) – Aug. 31-Sep. 28, 2019

(Ξ) Xi, (P) Rho, (Π) Pi

We find ourselves waiting in Agetoreios, for that which we have long hoped for, but, is what we have hoped for truly what is best? If we have waited so long, why has our idleness not been rewarded? Perhaps it is time to cease waiting, for what is not ready, may never be ready for us. Our destiny awaits, regardless. When we accept this, the goal shall become tangible.

Aegletion (XI) – Sep. 29-Oct. 28, 2019

(P) Rho, (Ξ) Xi, (E) Epsilon

In the month of Aegletion, we can see ahead, the fruit of our labors. We see all the potential, and all that is good within the promises we have made, and kept. We may seek to quickly grasp what lay ahead, but that time has not yet come. Patience is still required. We must allow events to ripen, and roots to take hold. This will ensure that the tree has a solid foundation, as it grows, branching toward the heavens.

The *Orphic hymn has a beautiful line in it to Apollon in which it addresses the god as one who turns the seasons by his song, reminding us of the cyclic nature that is so very much a part of his domain (or exit out of the cycle in myths of deification such as in the cases of Marsyas, Hyakinthos etc) as we see the end always beginning again the new. This concept is perhaps best understood in the passage of time in Hellenic thought wherein the final year of a cycle was also simultaneously the first year, and Apollon Noumenios, begins too the new lunar month in every monthly course. The close dance of death and birth are always present together, even as in both cases certain miasmatic presence is accrued with both the release of death and the hazards of the first days of an infants birth after which Apollon and/or his twin are typically lauded. It is a harmony of nature, which appears to have foremost appreciated by Socrates in Plato’s Cratylus wherein he speaks of the meanings inherent in the names of the gods. Thus this keeping of harmonic movement of the cosmos in balanced score is perhaps most profoundly represented by his attribute as a player of the kithara or lyre. As most may recall, this was not an invention of himself but rather of Hermes. Given that Apollon has a more archaic nature as a pastoral deity he likely had related associations with music that were more organic, such as that of singing which can certainly demonstrate such a fondness in myth for the kithara that gave him an accompaniment to his voice. This point has been reinforced in myth by the contest between Marsyas with his pipes and the superiority of the abilities of the kithara that allowed Apollon to sing in company with the plucking of the strings.

This singing feature is probably also closely related to the prophetic nature of the god, for not only is he a god who oversees cycles making him a god who sees patterns of all things that have been and to come, but the close relationship between poets (who typically sang their work with a lyre of some kind) and seers is one that has been made also by Socrates as noted by Plato as a source of divine inspiration coming through similar channels. Certainly the Pythia’s oracles in metered verse (probably done singing or in a sing-song manner) lends a very thorough connection between the two. Therefore it is quite natural that as a god whose personal power comes through his vocalizations (albeit with the company of his stringed instrument to his liking…enough so that he bargained with Hermes for it). In some ways it is amusing because when we think of the music of Apollon we do not imagine his music being the power of his singing, but rather attached directly and solely to an external instrument whether it is kithara or the flute that he also attained from Hermes in the Homeric Hymn to Hermes. Yet it seems that his abilities as song-master and vocalization is perhaps the most important key to understanding Apollon’s music as he sings forth the intricate dance of the cosmos and the delicate weave of moving bodies therein by his lyrics. That by this he is Logos as truth, a golden unbreakable song. And by which too that Lycurgus, when given instruction from Delphi, used a poet to sing of the laws to coax people into following them by delivering in the most perfect form the persuasion of truth to their minds and souls. Or by relation, the belief that Thrakians had that singing to the soul of an individual could aid in curing their illness by restoring the order and harmonic balance to the soul via song.

And then there are the Kleidones, who were attached to his Delphi cult as well as at another location that escapes my memory at the moment. At Delphi, during the time of the bronze temple in that location according to myth, these Kleidones, described as being akin to Sirens) would perch at the pediment of the temple and sing their prophecies there. The close relationship they bear with Sirens can probably draw the relationship of Sires more acutely with Apollon, especially given their relationship to the Muses who are beloved by Apollon and are part of his divine company. The Sirens, prior to the Muses taking the position, were believed to be original divine beings of the celestial spheres. These duties were taken over by the Muses, and yet we see the Sirens in myth trying to take over the duties too of the Muses by challenging them to a contest of singing (which the Muses won and as penalty the Sirens had their feathers plucked to be worn as headdresses by the Muses in their triumph). Sirens are in myth, however, also embody the most dangerous form of music, that which can lure and entice men from their purpose (which is why Plato wanted public music to be ideally only of a certain type and without such threats) as we see in the Odyssey in which their songs lead directly to death. If Muses are one part of Apollon’s company as embodiments the perfections of civilization, I would consider the Sirens to be their shadowy sisters in his company….and a kind of natural harmony occurring between then. I do at times wonder if the adorning of the Muses with feathers could be seen as a direct relationship between the identify of the Muses with the Sirens…. perhaps in a less civilized and more violent type of being that has less to do with the civilized arts that better the soul and more with their place in the natural world in which song not only creates but is part of the cycle of the seasons between birth and death. The would certainly make sense in the context of song in the cult of Apollon.

For Apollon, the most beautiful singing was so attached to his nature that death of that which was most sacred to him was credited as possessing the most beautiful songs moments before their death. Swans (one of his heraldic animals and creatures that were known to pull his chariot to Hyperborea) particularly were spoken of in this manner, that before their death it was only then that they would beautifully sing. This idea to passed to humans who belong to him as well as exhibited by Cassandra in Ascheylus’ play Agamemnon in which laments before her death where characterized as such beautiful funerary singing that it is addressed as her “swan song”. It is not hard to imagine why laments, accompanied by the keening of the flutes, would be part of his musical sphere, even if it was banned at Delphic contests for a time because it was considered too depressing of a subject to be fit in honoring the god, even though it had an ancient tradition in place as an offering to him, and he was said himself to play such laments at the funerary libations he gave to the Python. After all the paean is known not only as a song in honor of the god for a victory (as indicated by the myth of the paean in relation to the slaying of Delphyne by the village men), but also as a lamenting song (as per the paean in the myth of Hyakinthos). Obviously someone eventually saw sense because after a number of years it was permitted back into the Delphic contests.I have may times said that if Dionysos was the god of theater and the masks of men acting through the passages of their lives, then Apollon is the leader of the chorus who brings revelations in their laments and praises.

That said, even though I belong to Apollon I sing like a raven, but I take it to heart that ravens for all the cawing are beloved by him too, and hold the song for myself as a more spiritual thing that comes across in a different way…through poetry and art primarily. So while great singers and poets are beloved and especially gifted in this manner by him, possessing enormous singing ability isn’t strictly a requirement of those who are his thankfully! Besides as I have indicated above his song is so much more vast in his domain and nature than simply putting together beautiful narratives in musical form. It is the very mechanism of the functions of his domain.

Lykeia (8/20/2015)

Painting: “Apollo visiting Admetus”, by Nicolas-Antoine Taunay.

*[33] XXXIII. TO APOLLO [APOLLON]

The Fumigation from Manna.
Blest Pæan, come, propitious to my pray’r, illustrious pow’r, whom Memphian tribes revere,
Slayer of Tityus, and the God of health, Lycorian Phœbus, fruitful source of wealth .
Spermatic, golden-lyr’d, the field from thee receives it’s constant, rich fertility.
Titanic, Grunian, Smynthian, thee I sing, Python-destroying, hallow’d, Delphian king:
Rural, light-bearer, and the Muse’s head, noble and lovely, arm’d with arrows dread:
Far-darting, Bacchian, two-fold, and divine, pow’r far diffused, and course oblique is thine.
O, Delian king, whose light-producing eye views all within, and all beneath the sky:
Whose locks are gold, whose oracles are sure, who, omens good reveal’st, and precepts pure:
Hear me entreating for the human kind, hear, and be present with benignant mind;
For thou survey’st this boundless æther all, and ev’ry part of this terrestrial ball
Abundant, blessed; and thy piercing sight, extends beneath the gloomy, silent night;
Beyond the darkness, starry-ey’d, profound, the stable roots, deep fix’d by thee are found.
The world’s wide bounds, all-flourishing are thine, thyself all the source and end divine:
‘Tis thine all Nature’s music to inspire, with various-sounding, harmonising lyre;
Now the last string thou tun’ft to sweet accord, divinely warbling now the highest chord;
Th’ immortal golden lyre, now touch’d by thee, responsive yields a Dorian melody.
All Nature’s tribes to thee their diff’rence owe, and changing seasons from thy music flow
Hence, mix’d by thee in equal parts, advance Summer and Winter in alternate dance;
This claims the highest, that the lowest string, the Dorian measure tunes the lovely spring .
Hence by mankind, Pan-royal, two-horn’d nam’d, emitting whistling winds thro’ Syrinx fam’d;
Since to thy care, the figur’d seal’s consign’d, which stamps the world with forms of ev’ry kind.
Hear me, blest pow’r, and in these rites rejoice, and save thy mystics with a suppliant voice.

In the Seventh Year of the Treasury, on the First Day of the New Year, Noumenia of Treasury Month Perihelios (I) – Jan. 7, 2019

**** Solomon’s Seal/Delta ****

“And now is the time to step back. Mankind has allowed itself to be guided toward a path of ultimate destruction. Your works upon the world have made Gaea bleed, and Her innocent children flee in droves to places of ill-repute, wherein they are subjected to carnage unimaginable to your fragile eyes.

“That you believed you were in control was the worst folly of all. And you will worry. And you must. Though We, the Blessed Gods, will do what is necessary.

“And so, you must let go the reigns, and We will guide you instead. Back away from the brink, and let inspiration carry you toward the solutions, and the justice, you seek. Live in the flow of Nature, and breathe in the dawn stretching across the world, for it will change the very fabric of your existence.”

“All things happen in due time. Do not dwell on the action of another, or even on the absence of action. For within the quiet, waiting period, in the still anticipation, comes the clarity which will drive you forward in haste, once haste becomes necessary.

“Remember that the finest leaps in imagination come not from sheer will, but from pure need! Never force what inspiration gives freely, or you will taint the well with ego, and what results will be less Divine, and less yourself than all the sharply tailored versions of you, kept for consumption by others.

“Take heed of this warning, and be bold in your thought! For bold thought itself is the catalyst which leads to bold action, when the waiting period ends! Never allow yourself to be sequestered within a frame too rigid for growth! And be patient! Be so patient, My loves, and you will be rewarded with the strongest foundation!”